Bid package review
Bid package review workflow for overloaded subcontractor estimators
Turn messy plans, specs, addenda, bid forms, GC instructions, and estimator notes into a structured pre-bid review your estimator can actually use before price lock.
From CAD 6,500 · fixed before we start · 10 business days · 6 deliverables
How the sprint works →Built by Duncan Anderson, an AI engineer and data scientist who builds practical automation around real operating workflows.
What usually breaks
Where commercial subcontractors lose time or revenue
The first audit is deliberately narrow. We identify the repeatable workflow, the owner, the inputs, the status points, and the places where a small automation would actually survive daily use.
- Bid invites, addenda, drawing sheets, alternates, allowances, and proposal templates live in different email threads or folders.
- RFIs are written late, or unanswered RFIs become rushed proposal qualifications.
- Vendor quote requests go out without a clean scope split for controls, fire alarm, testing, startup, closeout, or AHJ requirements.
- Estimator notes are useful but never become a reusable checklist for the next similar package.
Readiness Sprint
A fixed first step before any larger automation build
Before anyone builds, we map one costly workflow end to end, decide what AI should draft and what people must approve, and write the pilot brief. You keep every document whether or not we build together.
- From CAD 6,500, fixed before we start
- 10 business days
- 50% to start, 50% at readout
- English or French
Six things you keep
Workflow map
Current state end to end: steps, handoffs, systems, volumes and where time goes.
Intake and status schema
The fields and states a system would read and write, agreed with the people who do the work.
Exception taxonomy and decision rights
What goes wrong, how often, and who is allowed to decide each case.
Review-first prototype spec
Exactly what AI drafts, what a person approves, and what is never automated.
Pilot and measurement brief
Scope, baseline, success metric, stop conditions and a fixed-fee build quote.
Executive readout
Findings and a clear build / don't-build recommendation, with one round of revisions.
Offer path
Document Intake and Review Workflow
An intake queue with missing-info checks, summaries, classifications, status, and a human approval step before records change.
First build could be
A small workflow your team can review
A bid package intake checklist that forces every package through the same document completeness review.
Not this
Clear scope boundary
This is not full estimating, takeoff, or a replacement for estimator judgment.
Workflow map
The audit follows the real work, not a generic AI checklist
This page is based on the Bid Package Review workflow: a narrow construction bid desk concept focused on scope notes, RFI candidates, risk flags, exclusions, and bid-day checklists rather than full estimating or takeoff.
Package intake: plans, specs, addenda, bid instructions, bid form, proposal template, scope letter, and estimator notes.
Document completeness check: missing addenda logs, final bid forms, alternates, allowances, unit prices, bonding, taxes, and delivery instructions.
Scope boundary scan: divisions, trade overlaps, vendor responsibilities, exclusions, clarifications, and unclear GC requirements.
Output: RFI candidates, proposal qualifications, vendor quote prompts, risk flags, and a bid-day checklist.
Automation candidates
Likely first builds
The right first build is usually small, specific, and close to revenue or deadline pressure.
A bid package intake checklist that forces every package through the same document completeness review.
RFI and qualification draft generation from ambiguous scope, missing sheets, addenda changes, and vendor dependencies.
Estimator-ready bid-day checklist generation for addenda acknowledgements, alternates, allowances, taxes, bonding, and submission instructions.
Reusable review templates by trade so the second package is faster than the first.
Audit output
What you get back
The goal is a decision-ready plan: what to automate first, what to keep manual, and what data or tool connection is needed.
- A workflow map from bid invite to submitted proposal.
- A missing-document and addenda-risk checklist.
- A first-pass structure for RFI candidates, exclusions, and bid-day checks.
- A practical build plan for a concierge-assisted or semi-automated bid review workflow.
Request a fit review
Send the workflow that is costing time, deals, or deadline confidence
Specifics help. Include the tools involved, how the work arrives, who owns it, where status gets lost, and what would count as a useful win.
What happens next
I review every workflow personally and usually reply within two business days. If there is a fit, the next paid step is the AI Readiness Sprint.
From CAD 6,500 · fixed before we start · 10 business days · 6 deliverables
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